


Walk Me Home in the Dead of Night

by cleanlittlesecret



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Gen, Post-Finale, Speculation, Theory Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 12:58:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20797013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleanlittlesecret/pseuds/cleanlittlesecret
Summary: As it turns out, coming home is just another step forward.





	Walk Me Home in the Dead of Night

Long after the last customer had left and Jin had clocked out, Shouichi kept working, getting everything in his food truck ready to start another day in the morning. Years of late nights spent scouring the internet for information, both on his own and with Yuusaku, had worn into his bones, and now that the work had finally ended for good, he found himself with empty hours he was still learning to fill.

When Yuusaku had first disappeared, Shouichi had considered searching for him, but seeing a flurry of website articles and forum posts bursting with speculation and rumors about what had happened to Playmaker convinced him to wait, knowing Yuusaku would return and that nobody could find him before he was ready. Shouichi watched for him, a belief in the back of his head that one day he’d see Yuusaku through the service window like the first time they’d met in this world, and for once, everything would be okay.

That night, the plaza’s darkness pressing against the closed service window, Shouichi sat in silence as he checked over the account book, and when the door he’d always left unlocked for Yuusaku opened, he glanced up, only for the numbers running in his head to vanish. Yuusaku climbed into the truck like it was just another night that he couldn’t sleep, and Shouichi bolted to his feet. “You’re—!”

“Kusanagi-san.” Yuusaku raised his arm to show his Duel Disk. “I found him. I got him back.”

A familiar, oversized eye stared back from the round screen, and Shouichi shook his head with a weak chuckle. _This_ he hadn’t expected, but leave it to that rascal Ai to survive after all, even if he’d been reduced again to the mere eyeball they’d first caught, and leave it to Yuusaku to track him down. Shouichi had learned well how to read his expressions, and in the smile Yuusaku wore now, he saw both pride and relief—Yuusaku had saved someone important to him, someone everybody had believed was beyond saving. Shouichi set a hand on Yuusaku’s shoulder and squeezed. “You did it, Yuusaku. Good work.”

A high-tuned voice he hadn’t heard in a long time burst from the Duel Disk, and Shouichi jerked back as Ai said, “Excuse me for interrupting you two’s lovely reunion, but you are…?”

Shouichi furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you serious? I’m Kusanagi!”

“_Ohhh_, Kusanagi, gotcha.” The eye rotated to adjust under the screen. “Hotdog man. I remember you.”

“You remember…? Is this another trick?”

“As far as I can tell, he’s being honest this time,” Yuusaku said. “When I found him, he’d lost most of his code, so I still need to go and look for more. I doubt all of it is salvageable, but I was hoping you could help.”

“Of course, I’ll do anything I can, but first we need to talk. Do you want some coffee?”

“I do!” Ai cheered, but when they both ignored him as Yuusaku nodded, he whined through his speaker.

Shouichi poured two mugs from a pot he’d brewed hours before—he was well accustomed to coffee that’d gone cold, and he’d seen Yuusaku gulp down dregs without hesitation—as Yuusaku sat before the computer and took off the Duel Disk. Rather than place it on the keyboard, Yuusaku held the Duel Disk in his lap, and as Shouichi set down their mugs and reclaimed his chair, he said, “So is the fact that I sell hotdogs all you remember about me?”

“Nope.” The eye curved like a grin. “I know you’re Playmaker’s ally who fought to save your younger brother, and I remember some stuff we did together.”

“And what about Yuusaku? Do you remember him?”

“Of course I do!” Ai huffed. “How could I ever forget Yuusaku? We’re partners!”

“I’m happy to hear that.” Shouichi looked to Yuusaku. “How did you find him? I thought he’d been erased after your duel.”

“He was, but with a program this complicated, something of his code was bound to be left somewhere on the network. It took a lot of searching, but with how Link VRAINS has been expanding, I knew I’d find him in it again when enough of his data reconnected to the system. I just had to keep looking for him long enough.”

“And you did it by yourself in that huge network?” With a whistle, Shouichi leaned back in his chair. “I can’t even imagine where all you’ve been, but if anyone could be determined enough to look in every nook and cranny of a growing world for something as small as that, it would be you.”

“My search isn’t over.”

“I know, but with my help, I’m sure you’ll find more of Ai in no time.”

“It’s not just that,” Yuusaku said. “I want to find everyone.”

“Everyone?”

“All the lost AIs—Flame, Aqua, Earth, Windy, Lightning, Bohman, Haru, and Roboppi. If Ai could be found, then they should be somewhere in the network too, and I won’t stop until I get them all back.” Yuusaku spoke evenly, this course determined long before he opened the door, but Shouichi shifted in his chair.

“Roboppi’s system was wrecked, and a lot has happened to the network since the others were erased, so even if you find them all…” His throat tightening, Shouichi couldn’t bring himself to say _they might not come back as you remember them_, not when Yuusaku knew what being lost could do to someone. It wasn’t about wanting people back just as they had been. This was about not being left behind, not being left alone. As always, Yuusaku would do anything to save everyone. “Okay. If that’s what you want to do, then I’ll help you any way I can.”

Yuusaku nodded. “Thank you.”

“That is an awful lot of people to find, though,” Ai said. “I want to help them too, but do you really think us three can do it all by ourselves?”

“Don’t underestimate what we can do.” Shouichi grinned, and an idea pushed him forward. “It doesn’t have to be just us. I’m sure a lot of people with resources we don’t have will be happy to help if we ask them, and with that many eyes searching the network, it should be doable.”

“So our enemies are now our allies, huh.” Ai squinted at Yuusaku. “And what about the potential threat to humanity? I had you erase me to prevent a future where you would be killed, so if I and all the other AIs are brought back, then won’t everyone be in danger again?”

“I haven’t given up.” Yuusaku lifted the Duel Disk closer. “Things are different now, and we’ve all learned from what’s happened. It’s not too late to create a future where nobody, AI or human, has to be lost.” Yes, that was the boy he knew. If Yuusaku still believed in a future like that, then surely it would become a reality. Pivoting his seat to face the computer, Yuusaku set his Duel Disk on the keyboard and turned on the monitor. He’d grown, now reaching the power button more easily than before.

Shouichi blinked. “Are you starting now? You just got in.”

“Is there a reason to wait?” Yuusaku looked at him, and unlike Ai, he was always serious. _Of course._ Shouichi quietly snorted. So much for _the work had finally ended._

“I’ll put on some more coffee.” He left his chair but then stopped to turn back. “By the way, before I forget—welcome back, you two.”

“Aww. Did you miss me?” Ai said.

“I missed you both. It’s good to see that you two are okay.”

After considering Ai, Yuusaku looked at Shouichi and smiled. On anyone else, it would have appeared weak, but on him it shone bright. “We’re home, Kusanagi-san.”

**Author's Note:**

> I got into Yu-Gi-Oh as a little kid and returned to it as a teenager, but this series is the first I’ve watched from start to finish as it aired, and it means so much to me. Thank you for everything, Vrains.


End file.
